Question

Read the excerpt and answer the question.

The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens. Others—as most legislators, politicians, lawyers, ministers, and office-holders—serve the state chiefly with their heads; and, as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God.

In at least 100 words, provide a summary of this excerpt. Based on this passage, how does Thoreau feel about the people who serve the state?

Answer 1

Too much respect for law leads people to do many unjust things, as war illustrates: Soldiers become only a shadow of their humanity; the government shapes them into machines. Soldiers have no opportunity to exercise moral sense, reduced to the existence comparable to that of a horse or dog. Yet these men are often called good citizens.

Step-by-step explanation:

This paragraph is from Civil Disobediance by Henry David Thoreau, and my answer of "Too much respect for law leads people to do many unjust things, as war illustrates: Soldiers become only a shadow of their humanity; the government shapes them into machines. Soldiers have no opportunity to exercise moral sense, reduced to the existence comparable to that of a horse or dog. Yet these men are often called good citizens" conveys the summary.

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cafeology

Answer 2

Thoreau feels about the people who serve the state are immoral because they are doing all the wrong things for the wrong reasons, To much respect for the law leads people to do many unjust things because they may take the law into their own hands when they see someone disobeying the order of how they think things are supposed to run. Soldiers became only a shadow of their humanity and then the government shaped them into machines that the people or themselves could not recognize themselves they have been turned into something they didn't want it's what the government wanted.

Step-by-step explanation: